We caught this local band at a show on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center two weeks ago. C.J. and I really liked them. Martha seemed okay with their music (despite the usher admonishing me that it would be too loud for a baby), but she mostly dug the mid-century chandeliers.

Seriously. I just added it all up. Three months. Now, this was a heavy quarter for us, as it included:

C.J. contracted a mild pneumonia and was hospitalized for 5 days and 4 nights, including an ambulance ride and an emergency room stint

a c-section delivery

two echocardiographs at two different hospitals to check out newborn Martha’s heart murmur

the 8th and 9th months of a pregnancy including a bunch of prenatal visits, an ultrasound, and some extra lab work due to gestational hypertension

A day admission to the hospital to watch for pre-eclampsia because of that hypertension

a middle-of-the-night visit to the Children’s Hospital ER as we were antsy about a nasty cold and fever so soon after the pneumonia

three separate allergic outbreaks for me, resulting in a diagnosis of a new allergy to English Ivy

Oh, and Sam got a whooping cough vaccine, so he contributed a whopping $90 to the total.

Now, we paid incredibly little of all of this (sub 10%), as we have great health insurance (thanks, ULI!). But without insurance, this obviously could have been catastrophic for even financially comfortable families.

Between facebook and twitter, I’m connected to a lot of my blood relatives on social media. In facet, if you count non-blood relatives like my in-laws and the extended families of both of my step-parents (with whom I’m close), I have several dozen relative-friends on social media. Their behaviors fall into three categories, largely correlating to age:

1. Normal Behavior (roughly ages 25-55)

These folks post updates about their thoughts, feelings, and activities. It’s great to connect with them and learn about what’s going on in their lives and I also like that they expose me to things that my self-selected friends don’t generally do, like bible study camps and people who don’t support Obama, for instance. They also exhibit very normal interactions like compliments on photos of my daughters, expressions of sympathy when I post sad or angry or frustrated thoughts, and cheerful notes on birthdays and holidays. These interactions are total wins and I want more of them.

2. Stalkers (over age 55)

When I friend these people, or they follow me on twitter, I often forget that the virtual relationship exists because they never post anything. Silence. Crickets chirping. My mom has two different facebook accounts, one with 5 friends and one with 6. To date, neither one has acknowledged my request to link to her as my mother. Yet, when I talk to my mom on the phone, she’ll ask me about my trip to Ikea or the splash park and I have to remind myself that she knows about these mundane details through her twitter stalking. Who knows how many of these relatives there are, but I’d venture dozens.

3. People who post updates that I literally do not comprehend (under 25 year olds).

Seriously, it’s like these folks are speaking a different language. Here are some examples:

I’m guessing the first one is about a messaging service and the second is about a class schedule, but the grammar just makes me feel old.